This Cat Tour Is Going MEGA Viral On TikTok, And It's Genuinely The Most Adorable Thing I've Seen In Soooo Long
by Abby Zinman · BuzzFeedOne thing we can all agree on? It's been a tough year so far. We all need more comfort, enjoyment, and CAT CUDDLES in our lives.
And ever since Toronto had its very own cat tour in August, people all over the world have been freaking out about it. Two videos on TikTok showcasing the Toronto cat tour went viral, with over 7 million views altogether and thousands of comments raving about the idea.
But what exactly is a cat tour, and why do people love it so much? We're here to break it all down for you.
Basically, the tour is like any other walking tour — you sign up in advance, meet with a group of people, and a guide takes you through a specific route. But this route is specifically designed to see as many cats as possible.
So that means enjoying a day in the city, while seeing tons of cats along the way. What could be better? And the cats are all people's pets, so you're stopping by actual houses in Toronto, greeting people, and watching (or petting!) their cats.
It's like... therapy. Truly, I think one of these would heal me.
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Natalie Czerwinski — the creator of Cat Tour Toronto — told us some details about the tour that'll just make you swoon. She even discussed some very adorable (and pretty exclusive) stories from the Cat Tour Toronto event.
Natalie first explained how she got the idea from TikTok and put the event together by herself. "I did it all on my own, though my partner and a friend helped with putting up posters, and volunteers assisted on the day of the tour by helping physically manage the group."
Of course, the tour relies on cat owners in Toronto to sign up — so she printed physical posters and set up an Instagram. "I managed cat owner signups with a Google form, and plotted their addresses on Google Maps so I could put together a route." And the best part of this entire thing? "All the proceeds went to Toronto Cat Rescue, a local cat rescue (where I adopted my own cat)," Natalie said.
I COULD CRY.
When she started selling tickets, Natalie was truly shocked at how popular it was. "When I first started setting up the tour, I thought it would be great if we even got 10 people to go on the tour. We ended up having about 100, and tickets sold out in two minutes because there was such high demand."
And it makes sense why there was so much hype — because the day was full of love and happiness! "There was so much enthusiasm on both sides — participants made signs, wore cat-themed apparel, and were so excited, while cat owners decorated their porches and made merch, like stickers," she said. "One cat, Cupcake, even had a special treat for everyone — her owners baked cupcakes for the participants." 🥹🥹
Leading up to the tour, people would also get excited to see a particular cat on the tour — so these cats were not only adorable, but generated a bit of fame in the end. "One of the cat owners, Laura, told me she heard someone say, 'This is the cat I came on the tour for!' when she held up her cat Rodney, and how delightful that was," Natalie said.
Not only did people on all sides of the event have an amazing time, but it raised a ton of money for charity. "We raised $400 for Toronto Cat Rescue, which, according to their website, is enough for two cats to get a spay or neuter surgery or treatment." So it was a win-win all around!
Good news is, because of this event, cat tours are now popping up all over the place. "As a result of the Toronto Cat Tour getting so popular, I've had a lot of people from other cities reach out about wanting to start their own cat tours," Natalie explained. "There are now folks organizing cat tours in Montreal, Halifax, Edmonton, and more."
But if there isn't one in your city yet, hey, it's actually not that hard to set one up. "Honestly, all you really need to set up a Cat Tour is an internet connection and the will to do it. I didn't have a huge budget (I spent just over $100 of my own money on materials)." And come on, for the amount of positivity this event created, why not?
"I hope to do more tours in the future so that more rescue cats can hopefully find homes as loving as the ones on the tour."